Govt appeals Evans’ acquittal to Privy Council

A recently released murder convict is facing an appeal against his acquittal to the country’s final court.

The prosecution hopes to challenge the local appellate court’s January 24 decision to acquit Clinton “Russ” Evans on charges of murder and attempted murder to the Privy Council.

Evans’ lawyer, Ramona Farquharson-Seymour, yesterday asked that the application for leave to appeal to the Privy Council be adjourned to give her an opportunity to respond to arguments led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Neil Brathwaite.

The hearing is now set for March 26.

The majority of the appellate tribunal ruled against ordering a third trial for Evans for the 1999 murder of DC Jimmy Ambrose and the attempted murder of security officer Marcian Scott, outside the now-closed Club Rock Disco.

Evans was convicted for the crimes for the second time in 2013.

Court of Appeal President Sir Hartman Longley disagreed with the decision by justices of Appeal Sir Michael Barnett and Milton Evans not to order a retrial for Evans, who, on the evidence produced at all three trials, was found with a gun that was linked to the scene.

Sir Michael and Justice Evans found that Evans’ trial was rendered unfair by the failure of the Crown to call the ballistics expert who linked the firearm Evans allegedly fired at two officers and then stashed in a sand pit.

An eyewitness, John Campbell, also identified Evans, Stephen Stubbs and Andrew Davis as the shooters. Scott, who was murdered after the second trial, also identified Stubbs and Davis as the shooters in his deposition at the preliminary inquiry that was entered into evidence at the trial.

Stubbs and Davis had their appeals dismissed. With credit for the time spent in custody, Stubbs, 44, will now spend 35 years in prison and 42-year-old Davis will spend 34 years.